FREE ONLINE TALK
EMBODIED AWARENESS: A WHOLE-BODY APPROACH TO TEACHING MEDITATION
with René Fay & Susan Layden
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm ET
REGISTER NOW
Most of us live from the neck up. Meditation invites us to return to the rest of ourselves.
Join us for a free online event exploring how embodied awareness can transform the way we practice and teach meditation. In this conversation with meditation teachers Susan Layden and René Fay—both with deep experience in movement-based disciplines like yoga and martial arts—we’ll explore how bringing mindful attention to the body can shift our relationship to stress, discomfort, and habitual reactivity—cultivating more clarity, stability, and ease both on and off the cushion.
You’ll also get an inside look at the core teachings of the upcoming eight-week Body of Meditation Teacher Training, including how to integrate body scans, mindful movement, nervous system regulation, and inclusive language into your practice and teaching. Whether you're an experienced teacher looking for new tools or a dedicated practitioner curious about embodied practice, this session is a chance to explore the unique approach behind the training.
You’ll have the chance to meet the instructors, ask questions, and learn how the program is thoughtfully designed to support a wide range of bodies and needs—making meditation more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive for all practitioners.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
René Fay
René is the Community Director for Dharma Moon. They are a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and death doula, they studied comparative religion and gender studies, and they earned their black belt at 17. René’s career has a long and extensive history of advocacy, with a focus on collaboration with, support of, and focus on: at-risk youth; queer communities and people; intimate partner violence/sexual assault prevention and intervention; and grief and crisis counseling. René is passionate about making meditation and dharma teachings radically accessible and has personally used meditation to transform their relationship with their own anxiety and chronic health issues. Outside of work, they're likely to be knitting while trapped under a cat listening to podcasts.
Susan Layden
Susan is a senior teacher with Dharma Moon, serving as the coordinator of the 100hr Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training programs and a close senior student of David Nichtern’s for over 10 years. She received her 100hr meditation teaching certificate from David Nichtern and Kaia Yoga. She is a yoga and meditation teacher and a 500hr E-RYT and a YACEP (continuing education provider- with yoga alliance) and holds a 100 certification to teach mindfulness and yoga to children.
Susan is a 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. She has studied and taught under Grand Master Ik Jo Kang for over 20 years and is registered under Tae Kwon Do Jidokwan in Korea. She is the mother to three precious adult daughters.
Susan is committed to her practices, her family and giving back to her community. She has been in recovery for over 30 years.
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